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LAWYER A personal advocate hired to bend the law on behalf of a paying client; for this reason considered the most suitable background for entry into politics.

HALF LIFE The span of time required for a thing to deteriorate to 50 percent of its original potency: about 24,000 years for plutonium atoms... a few centuries for great civilizations... three weeks for a hit song... four days for a child's enthusiasm over a new $90 toy... 24 hours for the fresh sense of purpose acquired at a motivational seminar... 15 minutes for the warming afterglow of a "feel-good" movie... ten seconds for a sudden impulse to shove the papers off your desk, slug the boss, and board the next plane to Tahiti.